Madison News

Officer involved death bill gets a hearing

MADISON, Wis. (AP) _ The leader of the state Assembly's criminal justice committee says a bill that would create a state board to review officer-involved deaths is a tough sell.

The bipartisan bill would require police agencies to use outside investigators and create a state Justice Department board that would review the probe and making charging recommendations to prosecutors.

The criminal justice committee held a public hearing on the measure Thursday. The panel's chairman, Rep. Joel Kleefisch, told the bill's chief author, Rep. Gary Bies, that bill will have a tough time getting through because it suggest lawmakers don't trust the police.

Bies, a former Door County sheriff's deputy, responded that many agencies already use outside agencies as a matter of policy and the bill isn't as critical of police as Kleefisch might think.

Madison Democrat Chris Taylor is a co sponsor of the legislation, which was prompted in part by the family of Paul Heenan. The 30 year old man was shot and killed by a Madison officer late last year.